Bruno R. Orig
Bruno R. Orig was a United States Army soldier who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on 3 January 2025 for his actions during the Battle of Chipyong-ni in the Korean War.
Early life
Bruno Orig was born in January 1930, in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was one of eight children raised in Honolulu by his mother Gregoria, father Hilario Orig and stepfather Leon Omboy. All three of his parents came to Hawaii from the Philippines. He graduated from Farrington High School in 1949.Military career
He enlisted in the U.S. Army in August 1950 and was trained as a light weapons infantryman. He was assigned to Company G, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, in South Korea. After only three months in country, Orig distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action against enemy forces in the vicinity of Chipyong-ni on 15 February 1951.During fierce fighting, Orig moved his fellow wounded soldiers to a place of safety and noticed that all except one man of a machine-gun crew had been wounded. Without hesitation, he volunteered to man the weapon. Remaining in this position, Orig placed such effective fire on the enemy that a withdrawing friendly platoon was able to move back without a single casualty. He continued to inflict heavy casualties on the enemy until the company positions were overrun. Later that day, when the lost ground was recaptured, Orig was found dead beside his weapon and the area in front of his gun was littered with enemy dead.
Orig was originally awarded the Distinguished Service Cross which was upgraded to the Medal of Honor on 3 January 2025.